By John Redmond
A series of concerts titled “2nd Saturdays” featuring local and international acts will kick off the New Year at Club SHARP in Mangwon-dong, western Seoul, Saturday.
The monthly show run by record label World Domination, Inc. (WDI), showcases many of Korea’s best independent bands.
Saturday’s lineup features melodic punk band ...Whatever That Means (WTM), Daejeon metalcore band NoEazy, Gwangju’s newest hardcore band The Nap, skatepunk band 1Ton and emo band Emotion Bomb. The show marks the first Seoul gig by The Nap, formed by a former member of Gwangju skatepunk band BettyAss. It is also NoEazy’s first appearance at a WDI show.
“It’s a new year, and we’re kicking off 2017 with some great bands,” WDI’s Jeff Moses said. “So brave the cold, and let’s start 2017 with a bang.”
Moses and his wife Trash make up one half of WTM, a melodic punk rock band from Seoul that formed in early 2009. The band has built a reputation as a hardworking DIY band and was described by Alternative Press as, “the pop-punk face of the Korean music scene.”
WTM has toured throughout Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and the United States, performed at the Daejeon Rock Festival, and opened for international acts such as Strike Anywhere (U.S.), the Bruce Lee Band (U.S.), FC Five (Japan), The One Thought Moment (Japan), and NoOpinion (Germany). WTM has released two full-length albums, several EPs and singles, and most recently, a split 7-inch record with Burn Burn Burn from Seattle, Washington.
Doors open at 8 p.m. and entry is 15,000 won.
To get to Club SHARP, leave exit 2 of Mangwon Station and turn right. Walk straight about 200 meters to the IBK branch and turn right. Keep going another 200 meters until you see the With Me convenience store. Club SHARP is in the basement of that building.
Visit facebook.com/wdikorea for more information about the gig.